"Yes we thought that he would clear," Reese said Wednesday on Sirius XM NFL Radio (via The Star-Ledger). "It's rare but it's not the first time something like that has happened. It's disappointing for us that we didn't get him back. He did a tremendous job for us and we hope he gets well soon and that he can finish his career, whether it's with New England or whatever team he ends up with. It was disappointing, but that does happen, every blue moon."

Ballard was released by the Giants on Monday after failing a physical, but returned to the team's facility after believing he'd cleared waivers. That's when the Patriots swept in and claimed the injured tight end.

"No, absolutely not," he said. "There is no reason for us to have hard feelings about it. When you put a guy on the wire, he's free game for anybody. There are no hard feelings for us. They think that they can salvage the situation, so we will see what happens, but again, we only wish the best for Jake."

We're sure the Giants weren't thrilled about what the Patriots did here, but there's no use moaning about it in the media. Besides, Ballard is coming of a rough knee injury and probably won't see an NFL field until 2013. The Giants will survive.